In Ben We Trust

"Four more years" is the big news this morning in the business press, which lead with the reappointment of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. It was Bernanke's calm under pressure, the Wall Street Journal concludes, that earned him another term. In announcing the news, President Obama said his "bold, persistent experimentation has brought our economy back from the brink." The New York Times reckons Bernanke will have an even tougher time in his second term. "Bernanke's biggest challenge will be to undo much of what made him a hero during his first term," the newspaper writes. As fiscal hawks well know, Bernanke's "bold actions" included "lending hundreds of billions of dollars to banks and businesses, slashing overnight interest rates to nearly zero, having the Fed almost single-handedly finance the mortgage market." Flooding the markets with easy credit is among the many emergency measures that will need to be "rolled back over the next few years," the newspaper concludes.

It's these generous moves from the first four years that have earned Bernanke a growing contingent of critics on Capitol Hill, the Financial Times points out, a group he'll have to address in his confirmation hearing. "In an effort to reach out to his critics, the Fed chief—whose reappointment has to be confirmed by the Senate—will offer to work with Congress to improve Fed transparency and oversight but in ways that do not threaten its independence," the newspaper writes. Bernanke, though, seems to have won over the public, and the markets too. Business Week polls its readers to ask whether Bernanke deserved another term. The verdict? By a 2-to-1 margin (as of early this morning): Yes, bring him back, readers say.

Debt watchers, here's a forecast that no doubt will set your blood pressure to a boil. A forecast released by the White House and Congress yesterday shows that the United States will accumulate an additional $9 trillion in debt over the next 10 years. The NYT says the nation’s fiscal outlook "is even bleaker" than previously thought, thanks to a deep recession that generated lower tax receipts and triggered billions in emergency stimulus spending. The staggering numbers, the WSJ points out, "could affect Mr. Obama's efforts to increase spending in a host of areas, from education to foreign aid." Business Week reckons the bleak financial picture could impact Obama's ambitious plans for health care and energy reform.

The mounting debt failed to slow down the stock market on Tuesday, however. The major indexes all touched highs for 2009, CNNMoney.com reports. The S&P is now up 52 percent since its March low. One big factor in restoring confidence to the markets is the steadily improving U.S. housing sector. The latest data for June show "a convincing sign that the worst housing slump of modern times is coming to an end," the NYT reports, adding, "prices are starting to rise in nearly all of the nation’s large cities." Even house prices in Cleveland are up, rising 4.2 percent to earn a ranking near the top of the 20-city index, the Plain Dealer reports.

Moving halfway around the world now, there's news out of Australia this morning, where the government has given the green light to the controversial $42 billion Gorgon natural gas project on the Barrow Island Nature Reserve. The approval means the project's main backers, Chevron (CVX), ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM), and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, will eventually begin exporting liquified natural gas to China over the next 20 years, the Associated Press reports. Greek mythology fans will recall that the Gorgon was a vicious creature with venomous snakes for hair that turned her enemies into stone. Environmentalists today too are petrified by the Gorgon project. According to the BBC, "Barrow Island is home to a number of endangered, rare and endemic species, including the Barrow Island mouse and the flatback turtle."

And finally, just in time for the NFL season, beer prices are set to rise this autumn. "Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, the largest U.S. beer seller by revenue, and MillerCoors LLC will increase beer prices in the majority of their U.S. sales regions," the WSJ writes, adding, it's "a sign of their growing clout." According to the Los Angeles Times, "the two brewing giants control 80% of the U.S. beer market."